Still Quite The Same
by Cracked Plastic Crown
Summary: It all started with: A street musician with a love of rain and a man that wanted to return home. Things are still the way they were when he left, but new things keep cropping up all over the place. A Zemxy kind of story.
1. Songs About Rain

**Author's Note:** I've been watching a number of KH parodies on YouTube lately, and I'm starting to wonder just what colour Demyx's eyes really are. In my KH guide, Demyx's eyes are a very blue-green. Kinda like I dyed my hair once...

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing about Kingdom Hearts. I swear, I barely even own this story, because I'm sad like that. Please take this for what it is and is no way linked to the actual game. My views do not express those by SquareEnix or Disney.

**Story Notes:** Totally random story thought up at the spur of the moment simply desiring to be written. Axel works in a restaurant, Demyx is busking outside and Zexion doesn't want a side salad. Roxas thinks the chicken might eat him and Sora is washing dishes. Obviously this is nothing like how it actually is, so just read on and ignore any rambling that I may do.

This story is also riddled with slash/shounen ai/yaoi or however you want it to be known. Boys are crushing on other boys. Don't like it? Don't read.

**Still Quite The Same**

Songs About Rain:

It all started with The National Express.

The elderly man in the seat opposite kept staring at him like he was a choice cut of meat. The old woman behind snored like a fog horn. The woman with the two children infront of him just kept shouting through the entire trip and ultimately failed at controlling her Hell Spawn. Even the small amount of comfort that his music provided, it couldn't take away the real world and the horrible people that lived within it.

So, he had just sat in the uncomfortable seat and stared out of the window, trying to ignore the way that the man that sat across from him kept leering at him, music playing through the small headphones pushed into his ears.

When it was announced that Twilight Town was their next stop, he nearly fell out of his seat. A quick side-step once he stood up to avoid an unwanted rear-groping from the man once the bus had come to a complete stop, he grabbed his things and made for the front of the vehicle. He eagerly left, heading down the steps and onto the pavemented ground of the bus terminal.

Ah freedom! To finally be able to stretch his legs and walk upon the flat, unmoving ground once more! Spending nearly five hours on a bus from the bustling, urbanized metropolis that was Hollow Bastion to the quaint, small and homely town of Twilight could almost be likened to unimaginable torture. Imaginable torture would be something along the lines of a rack, cat of nine tails or even Chinese Water Torture. But spending almost five hours of ones life on a crapped bus seat (granted he had both seats to himself) with a woman who's snore sounded like the hoof beats of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, a man that thought he looked like the best thing since sliced bread and the offspring of Satan was something of unimaginable proportions. Something that Zexion would never wish upon anyone.

The bus terminal was small and relatively deserted. Being a small town, it was also coupled with the tram terminal, and even then there were few bodies milling around, trying to get on and off their respective modes of transport. As he walked along the neatly paved ground, his eyes soon came upon a figure only a short distance ahead of him.

Well, to be perfectly honest, there were two figures, one with flaming red hair. It was the other, with a large instrument case slung across his back that caught Zexion's attention. It was the black case that caught his eye first, which was then he noticed arms that were moving about animatedly, like he was conversing wildly with his red headed companion. An arm flowed up into the air, fingers reaching out, then it swooped down, disappearing infront of his body, elbow sticking out to the side.

Now, Zexion wasn't usually a man to be caught staring. When asked 'what are you staring at?' he would calmly reply with a 'I am not staring, merely observing and evaluating'. Of course, using words as long as 'observing' and 'evaluating' were often confusing to the person who asked the staring question and the reply they gave was merely a 'huh?' Some people could be brainless idiots without even trying.

Thus, he was not staring at this figure walking ahead of him with a black case which possibly contained a guitar of some sorts, slung over his shoulder, a nice pair of snug fitting jeans that clearly showed off the curves his lower body held. He was not staring at the blond hair in such a strange Mohawk-come-mullet style. He was not staring which involved him forgetting where he was supposed to be heading and had by now left the terminal and was following the figure only a few feet ahead of him through the sparsely populated area of what could only be the main shopping area of Twilight Town.

Shaking his head to snap himself out of this strange day dream he had found himself in, causing grey-blue hair to flow slightly, blocking his right eye from view even more than usual. Pausing, he took a few moments to assess his surroundings. There were several stores, a butchers, a "Rikku's Caffeine Haven" - which by the little metal tables and chairs set out front looked to be a coffee shop – a couple of stand alone old style market stores selling random items and a large building that looked like it had recently had new windows put in. The double doors were wide open, and two flag poles above the windows either side of the door, proudly waving flag proclaiming the place to be 'Radiant Garden'.

Once he had taken in these surroundings, his eyes soon found the black case once more. It was now open, resting upon the ground. A couple of coins were sitting on the red velvet interior. Moving his gaze from the instrument case, they soon discovered that it was no guitar, but more of a strange, blue guitar-like instrument. It was currently resting upon the crossed knees of the one idly strumming notes on the strings – one with blond hair in a strange Mohawk-come-mullet style.

He was singing, but from where Zexion stood, he couldn't hear him. The musician was yet to project his voice for the people milling around to hear him, as if he was warming his voice like one would warm a car engine in cold weather. Wanting to hear this voice, Zexion inched closer until he could hear him and not look like some idiot that was just standing around looking like a lost sheep.

And oh, what a voice!

"_I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain..._"

He was half singing, half saying the words, but Zexion could already tell, that once he broke out into full song, this blond musician had a voice that could rival a choir of angels.

"_What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again. I'm laughing at the clouds, so dark up above. The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love..._"

He stopped, took a deep breath, and then he _sang_.

Zexion could of melted as he stood there, listening to what most people would consider a cheesy and stupid song to sing on such a warm and sunny, late summer day, but he made it _work_. It didn't matter that it wasn't raining, the way he sang, you could almost imagine the rain falling down from the sky. But it wasn't rain that made one feel depressed as youth's voice lifted into the air, because it was a cheerful song and the song rain washed away all of one's troubles and left a warm, fuzzy and happy feeling in the pit of Zexion's stomach.

And when it was over, it left him wanting more.

Releasing his hold on the handle of his suitcase, Zexion brought both his hands together and began to clap. Now, don't let it be said that Zexion was a cold, emotionless man that spent more time with his internal thoughts than thinking of others. He was a caring and compassionate person that tended to just let the world roll off his back like water did off a duck. He only ever took to heart what touched his heart.

And this musician – without even knowing his name – had claimed a nice little niche in his heart, set up residence and was now planning on throwing a house-warming party for those warm and fuzzy emotions that Zexion rarely ever felt.

Head looked towards him, bringing a pair of blue? Perhaps they were green? Whatever the colour was, the combination of a marine blue and bottle green was startling to Zexion's, and the way they glistened at the fact that someone liked their owners talents was just too captivating for a person of Zexion's stature to look away.

"It wasn't _that_ good," he admitted modestly from his spot on the ground just to the left of the entrance to Radiant Garden.

"I thought it was," Zexion replied. "Even if the weather today is fine, you pulled the song off rather well."

A hand rubbed the back of the blond's neck, a soft pink blush tinting his softly tanned cheeks. Eyes were brought away from Zexion and down to the instrument in his lap bashfully. "Most people say I'm stupid for singing such a song,"

"Most people are idiots. With talent like yours', you shouldn't care what most people think" Zexion assured him. "Do you like the song?"

The blond nodded almost as furiously, making one think of those plastic little dogs that sat in that back window of cars, bobbing their heads madly. "I like songs about rain"

"Can you sing me some?"

Those strangely coloured eyes of blue-green widened. "R-Really?" He was clearly shocked at such a request. Usually people either told him to shut up, move somewhere else or gave a specific request of 'play such and such a song'. Never had he been asked to play something of his choosing. He stared at the slate haired male in something almost akin to pure awe when he nodded, affirming that he did indeed wish the musician to play whatever he liked.

Fingers strumming random notes, lips working on the words. It was how he started, finding the words before they settled just right. He tested several different songs on his tongue, wanting just the right one to sing for this stranger.

"_I remember when we met..._"

Zexion tilted his head, causing some of his hair to slip away from before his eye. He could hear the other, but he was not singing the way he had just yet.

"_...before I was invisible. I thought I'd play it hard to get, pretend I'm unapproachable_"

He was getting louder, that choir challenging voice breaking through. By the chorus, he was pouring his entire being into the song. Zexion had heard singing before; somewhere in the past he had probably heard the original singer, but as far as he was concerned, they had nothing on this young street performer. By now, a small crowd had formed, and several people had tossed money into the open case. When he had finished, the crowd applauded his performance, and even with his hands shaking, Zexion clapped with them.

The blond was blushing almost as red as a tomato. His fingers fumbled with the strings, playing random notes as he tried to hide his embarrassment over all the compliments he was getting. "That was 'Rain' by Anthony Callea..." the musician announced to the group around him.

"What's your name?" Zexion asked.

The youth choked, spluttered, stuttered and then made a noise that sounded like 'Demyx' while he stopped himself from turning blue.

This in turn brought a smile to Zexion's lips, causing the blue to fade from the musician's face and tint it red instead. "Demyx?" Somewhere between the spluttering, the musician nodded. "Nice name"

A kid in the group then decided it was high time to announce his presence by voicing his personal opinion, and hopping from one foot to the other, pointed at the blushing Demyx and proudly called out "Queer!" The youngster then turned his attentions onto Zexion, waving his hand madly at him, crying out "Faggot!" with as much enthusiasm as much enthusiasm as a dog in heat pinning for the pink poodle that lived across the street, unaware that said pink poodle was infact male.

Some member of the onlooking crowd gathered around the street musician dispersed out of sheer embarrassment of the shouting brat, others out of embarrassment that they might have been paying attention to a gay musician and didn't want to be around any 'flirting'. Others just moved on to find better things to do.

Zexion remained to glare at the kid. If it wasn't for the fact that he could get into serious trouble for belting some stranger's offspring for being such a brat, he would of smacked some sense into the punk. What he did do, however, was grab the boy roughly by the shoulder and jerked him around to face him, the one eye not hidden behind his hair boring a hole into the kid's skull while a look of sheer terror formed on his face. He almost looked like he was going to wet himself by the time Zexion released him, and the kid ran away screaming much the way an actor would in a bad horror movie.

This resulted in what was left of the group to leave, mumbling and muttering about 'child abuse' and how Zexion shouldn't of done what he did. Zexion didn't care. Water off a duck's back, remember?

Demyx however, did seem like he cared. He was blushing furiously, his words coming out in a stutter, causing whatever he was trying to say sound all discombobulated and disjointed. Finally, he settled for "'m not gay..."

"I never insinuated that you were," Zexion put in, holding out his hand towards the musician. "My name is Zexion, and it was wonderful to hear you play"

If he could turn any redder Zexion was sure the youth should receive an award for the shade of red he achieved. One hand was rubbing the back of his neck while he sat there squirming once he had released Zexion's hand. For a musician who's fingers were as much their tool as their instrument, Demyx had surprisingly soft skin, his fingers were so delicate that when he held that hand in his own for only a few brief moments, Zexion had been too scared to squeeze incase he snapped one of those exquisite digits.

Had Zexion been a completely different person, he would have announced to the world that he was never going to wash his hand again. As it was, Zexion was not that person; he washed his hands regularly, and so there was no announcing of him becoming a dirty grub.

"So...umm...Do you want me to play anything else?"

Wait, was this figure of pristine beauty with the voice of an angel asking him if he had any more requests? Unsure if he could even handle another song, his blue eyes glanced inside the window of the building Demyx had chosen to sit outside of. It looked to be a restaurant or bar of some sorts. "Would you like a drink?" he offered, bringing his eyes back to the blond. "I've been travelling all day and I think a drink would be welcomed. How about yourself?"

"Y-You-You-You're offering t-to buy m-me a drink?" Eyes were once again wide and staring up at Zexion who smiled down at him and gave another graceful nod of his head as he had when allowing him to play anything of his choosing. "If you r-really want to"

"I do," and again, his hand was offered, only this time it was to help the younger male to his feet.

Quickly gathering up all the money in his case and placing his instrument lovingly inside it then snapping it shut, Demyx uncrossed his legs and quickly stood up, taking the man's hand as he did so. Dusting off the dirt from the back of his jeans, he slung the strap over his shoulder and followed Zexion inside the building, fingers tapping together nervously.

See, what Zexion didn't know was the the red haired one that Demyx had been talking with back at the bus terminal worked within the restaurant called Radiant Garden. Almost as if he were trying to cower behind the grey-blue haired male, Demyx followed with nervous steps, eyes darting around the cozy interior for any sight of the bright red hair.

"Is something the matter?" Zexion asked, noticing how agitated Demyx seemed as he trailed along behind him. "We don't have to drink in here if you don't want to"

"Oh, no, no, nononono!" chanted Demyx. "I like this place, it's just-"

"Greetings Demyx!"

Somehow, without him realising it, they had entered and reached the white marble topped bar, behind which stood a red head with bright green eyes. He wore a black shirt with 'Radiant Garden' printed on the pocket. Hearing the greeting, Demyx's eyes ceased flitting about the interior and focused on the red head. It took a few seconds for his brain to process everything, and then, his arms flailed while he tried to point, gasp and shout out the male's name in pure shock; even though he knew for a fact that he would be working.

"Axel!"

"Glad to see you have it memorized," came Axel's cheery voice, fingers tapping on the screen of his till. "I thought you'd be busking for another hour"

"I asked if he'd like a drink," Zexion chimed in, glancing over his shoulder to where Demyx was hiding behind him, one hand on his shoulder, the other pointing at Axel. His mouth hung open and he was simply staring in shock. What an emotional person. He caused Zexion to chuckle.

Axel just stood there beaming in a way that gave one the feeling that he was plotting something devilish and pure evil.

"So what would you like to drink?" Axel asked.

Looking at Demyx once more, the warmth gone from his shoulder where the musician had placed his hand, Zexion motioned his head towards the Radiant Garden employee, encouraging Demyx to make his choice. "You can have anything you like," he proposed.

"Anything?"

"Tap water's free," Axel cited.

"If you want something alcoholic, I won't say no. You seem old enough," Zexion was smiling softly, watching as the emotional musician hopped slightly from one foot to the other while the cogs in his mind turned, aiding him in the thought process of what to choose to impress this stranger.

"He turned nineteen last weekend," explained the red, now leaning on his till and ignoring the other customers that came up to make their orders. He was more interested in what was happening with his friend and this stranger than actually doing his job. This didn't matter so much, because there was a young brunette girl also working with him. It just meant she had a little extra work to do with Axel doing nothing.

"Oh, happy late birthday!" His smile brightened, and the blond blushed.

"I'll have...Oh Axel, you pick!" he admitted, feeling defeated. He couldn't think of anything that would impress this person, and so gave up.

Zexion chuckled lightly, and turned to Axel. "It appears that you have been left to choose. I'll have a coffee" Axel nodded, listening to the order while pushing buttons on his till. "By the way, are you still serving food?"

"We currently have lasagne as the chef's special," Axel said. "Comes with a side salad"

"I don't want a side salad"

There was a sly smirk on Axel's face, and he leaned forwards, bringing himself as close to Zexion as he could without melding his body with the bar. "But it's a great side salad"

Demyx inched closer to Zexion, and the male tried not to shiver when he felt breathing at his ear. "You don't want the side salad" whispered Demyx.

"I'll have the lasagne, a coffee and whatever you're going to get for Demyx. But _no_ side salad"

Axel scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Fine, _don't_ have the side salad" he pushed a few more buttons. "Anything else?"

"No thank you" He answered, handing the required amount of munny to Axel. When the drinks were placed infront of them, he glanced to Demyx to see how he was faring. "Do you mind carrying these for me?"

"Not at all!" And Demyx bounced forwards, grabbing the drinks and following the older male to a table in the far corner that was nestled nicely away from the door and gave Zexion a full view of almost the entire bar. Axel had chosen a cloudy drink for him that smelled like lime. Placing it on the table, he plopped himself down in the chair opposite Zexion and took a quick sip through the straw. "Soooo...?"

Zexion smiled at him, calmly stirring his coffee as he poured his milk. "What is your instrument called?" he asked. "It look like a guitar, but not quite"

"It's a sitar," grinned Demyx, setting the black case on the floor beside him. "My mum bought me one back from her trip to Asia years ago and I really liked it. I had this one custom made for my birthday"

Elbows propped on the wooden table with the coffee cup to his lips, Zexion watched Demyx. Note 'watched', not to be read as 'stared at', because Zexion simply does not stare. No matter how attractive the person sitting opposite him was. Pursing his lips, he blew softly over the hot liquid. "So what did you do to celebrate your birthday?"

Demyx had been talking about his sitar and how hard it had been to find someone that would make a custom for him when Zexion asked him about his birthday. For a few, brief seconds, his jaw hung open and his eyes stared at the man before him. Opening and closing his jaw several times, he tried to remember just what exactly had happened. "Weeellll..." he began. "Axel wanted to hire a stripper, but I told him no. I mean, Luxord would have my guts for garters if I even _thought_ about letting a stripper into his house"

"You know Luxord?" Zexion asked quickly, before he could choke on his coffee.

Demyx nodded in that bobble head toy way again. "Yeah, he's like my cousin on my mother's side, who then went and married my uncle who divorced my aunt on my father's side, which makes him my step-brother-cousin type thing. Its confusing. I live with him because our parents think its a good idea"

Demyx was right, the family situation clearly was confusing. Coupled with the way the blond explained it, and it almost had Zexion's head spinning. But that didn't matter. What did matter was that this creature of beauty knew – no, not knew – was related to someone Zexion had known in the past. "We were friends when we were younger," Zexion admitted before taking a sip of his coffee. "I had to move away though"

"So you visiting friends or something?"

Zexion couldn't stop smiling in the presence of this youth. He was curious, and was now leaning forwards, eager to hear what Zexion had to say. "I wanted to get away from Hollow bastion; return to the place where I was born."

"So you're like a salmon" mused the blond.

This brought a chuckle from Zexion. What a cute way to describe what he was doing. "You could say that, yes. I'm moving in with a friend until I can find a place of my own. Since you know Luxord, you may know him. Lexaeus"

A short, sharp gasp came from the blond, and with arms flailing, he nearly fell off his seat. "Le-Lex-Lexaeus!? As in..The Lexaeus"

"I never had him pegged as a 'the',"

Demyx shook his head quickly. "No, no, no, on. Not 'the', but 'The'. Capitalisation is very important" He grinned. "Big guy, doesn't say much"

Zexion nodded, taking another sip as he did so. "Yes, that would be him"

"Lasagne! No side salad!" announced a voice to Zexion's left. Glancing over, there stood a young, spiky haired brunet in the Radiant Garden black shirt, black pants and a pair of the brightest yellow boots Zexion had ever seen. He held a plate of lasagne in his hands and was grinning like sunshine.

"That would be mine," And he moved his saucer to one side to make room for the plate to be placed down infront of him by the youngster. "Thank you very much,"

"No problem!" he replied with a grin, passing Zexion his cutlery, then his bright blue eyes looked to the blond. "Heya Demyx, how's it going?"

"Sora! I didn't know you worked here too!"

The one named Sora grinned even more, nodding. "Yeah. I usually just wash dishes, but they need someone to help with table service. I'm not old enough to work on the bar yet"

"You two know each other?" Zexion asked as he cut into his food.

Both males nodded furiously. "Yeah!" announced Demyx happily. "Sora's cool. Axel has this huge crush on him!"

"Can we not talk about the pervert?" Sora pleaded, pouting lightly. "Axel's icky, and I'm not gay"

"Riku will be upset if he heard you say that," Demyx cooed, drinking from his straw.

"Well, Riku can be upset," stated Sora proudly, placing his hands on his hips. "I like girls" he said, matter-of-factly. "I want a girlfriend"

"Boobies, boobies, boobies," chanted Demyx, patting the younger male on the head. "Now get back to work before you get into trouble"

With a firm nod, a salute and a grin, Sora whizzed off through the tables and chairs and off to where only the employees went and re-emerged carrying plates of food for another customer.

"You have an interesting collection of friends, Demyx," Zexion said around a mouthful of lasagne.

And the youth blushes again, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm just an all out friendly type of guy. They're not all of my friends though, I have more than just two"

"I'm sure you do," he said sweetly. "Do you want some of this, it tastes delicious" Zexion asked, motioning to the food with his knife. Without waiting for a reply, he scooped some up on his fork and held it out for the musician. "Go on, try it"

Zexion knew how to plan things out so, that in the long run, the turn of events would always unfold in his favour. He was adept at getting people to do what he wanted them to do, without them asking why they were doing it. He could tell a person to jump, and they would answer with 'off what cliff' and then they would go and do it. Zexion never needed people to go and commit suicide though; luckily for them.

But what Demyx did he had not planned. His brain hadn't even got to the point where it calculated that if he offered a forkful of food to the gorgeous blond sitting opposite, that said blond would lean forwards, delicate fingers clasping around his wrist to hold his hand steady so that Demyx could slip his open mouth around the fork, then slid them away, taking the food with him.

But it did happen.

And to Zexion, it happened in slow motion.

Zexion was not a man to fall head over heels into a deep seated infatuation with anything or anyone, but Demyx climbed a rung on his ladder of things to infatuate over. That house-warming party had turned into a full out street party in his heart, with even more emotions that Zexion didn't even knew he _had_ joining in with the celebrations. Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, the male tried not to squirm in his seat as he felt himself feeling highly aroused over the sight he had just witness. Demyx even went so far as to lick at the sauce that trickled down over his lips.

"Well..." he breathed, trying not to sound like he was affected in such a way by such simply actions. "What do you think?"

"Is good," Demyx grinned, nodding. "I've never tried the lasagne, but I know you don't want the side salad."

"What is wrong with the side salad, exactly?"

"Vinaigrette dressing," Demyx stated. "Axel found out it was flammable. Then there was this one time that Sora dropped a box filled with about twelve bottles down the stairs. Olette wasn't happy, she had to clean the whole mess up. There was also this dare where we had to drink shots of the stuff. It doesn't taste very nice"

Zexion chuckled. Well, it was a good thing he didn't order the side salad, even if the reasons behind it were silly little things. To try and take his mind off pulling the blond over the table and devouring his mouth with his own, Zexion went back to eating his lunch, while asking simple questions that the musician was all to happy to answer. Even after Zexion had finished eating and four cups of coffee later, Demyx was still eager to answer any questions Zexion had to ask, and even asked some of his own.

Zexion had discovered that Demyx played outside Radiant Garden whenever he had spare time not as a way to make some spare cash, but because he enjoyed playing for people. He was actually in college studying marine biology. He'd moved in with Luxord because he lived closer to the college campus, and their parents (Demyx's mother/Luxord aunt, Luxord's father/Demyx's uncle) thought that it was a good idea for the both of them to become more than just cousins since they were now step-siblings.

Zexion shared with Demyx that he had moved from Hollow Bastion to Twilight Town because he was through living in the city. His friend Lexaeus had offered Zexion a place to stay while he settled back in. According to Demyx, Lexaeus lived a total of three houses down from Luxord. Zexion was pleased to hear this news, since now he didn't have to wonder where Demyx lived while he pursued the blond; even if the blond had no idea he was being pursued.

Lost within their own little conversations, neither of them seemed to notice someone walking towards their table. It wasn't until a plate containing food neither had ordered was set down onto the table, and an elbow nudged Demyx in the arm while a willowy red haired male sat down on the stool beside the musician. "Hope I'm not interrupting your date, but I'm hungry" Axel stated before taking a large bite from the chicken wrap in his hand.

Demyx stared and stammered in surprise. Zexion merely said nothing and took a sip of his hot chocolate. Fearing he'd be kept up all night, he moved onto something that contained less caffeine. "Are you on a break?" he asked over the rim of his mug.

Axel shook his head, chewing the food in his mouth. "Just finished," once he'd swallowed. "But really, I'm not interrupting your lovers meeting am I?"

"We're not on a date, we're just chatting. Zexion's really cool. He's going to live with Lexaeus"

The food in Axel's throat went down the wrong pipe and he suffered a coughing fit. "The Lexaeus?" he asked, his voice rough, water in his green eyes.

"One and the same," Demyx replied with a firm nod. "So don't be mean to him"

"Has Lexaeus turned into some kind of thug since I've been away?" Zexion asked, amazed at how mentioning his stoic friend sent younger males into a state of shock. "I would never have imagined him mindlessly beating people up"

Two sets of eyes were turned onto him. "Lexaeus is just really scary," admitted Axel. "The way he looks at you without saying a word; you just know he's trying to picture the best spot to bury you in his garden"

"He doesn't bury people in his garden!" corrected Demyx, smacking Axel across the back of his head. "He keeps them in his freezer until Saïx can come over and eat them. Raw!"

"I heard Saïx eats people's hearts!"

Oh that's just a rumour, Axel. He eats the entire person!" exclaimed Demyx. "I've heard it's to make him feel whole"

Sitting there, watching the two younger males converse about people that Zexion knew personally, and making outrageous claims was, well...outrageous! He really should put a stop to it and show the youths some truth, but the way Demyx's face lit up when he talked so animatedly just made Zexion want to sit back and watch him. They could talk for a little while longer, he'd be quite content just watching Demyx.

"Do _you_ eat people, Zexion?"

Well there went his sitting back and watching Demyx talk to Axel. The teenager was now looking at him with an intense curiosity in his eyes. Sighing gently and shaking his head, he set his hot chocolate aside. "You shouldn't take every rumour you hear to heart, Demyx," Zexion began. "Lexaeus does not murder people, nor does he keep their bodies. I can fully assure you that Saïx harbours no cannibalistic tendencies; he has never once expressed the need to devour a person to make himself feel whole. Have either of you met Lexaeus or Saïx in person?"

"No..."

"Well there you have it then. You cannot judge a person you do not know, even if it makes some form of sense to you."

"But do you eat people?" Axel asked, unaware that Zexion had inadvertently answered the question. He wanted a straight forward 'yes' or 'no' from Zexion, not a lecture about getting to know a person before judging them. He didn't want to hear about having to walk a mile in a person's shoes before criticizing them, or something like that. He didn't like walking a mile in his own shoes, why would he want to wear someone else's?

"No Axel, I do not eat people"

"Really? I have someone I'd like to devour. He's so sexy and just watching his hips sway as he walks..." peering over his shoulder as he spoke, Axel's green eyes focused upon the younger teen that was still working, carrying plates of food around to other customers. "I mean, I'd love to get my lips on his meat!"

"Axel!" And Demyx smacked Axel across the back of the head again.

For someone that had admitted to him that he disliked violence, Demyx was being rather violent towards his friend. The red haired male whined as he rubbed the back of his head, glaring daggers at the blond who sat there grinning like sunshine at him as if he'd done nothing wrong.

Glancing to his watch, Zexion cleared his throat to capture the other's attention. "It's getting late – I really should make a move now before Lexaeus wonders where I am"

"Hey, since you're going to be living not far from me, do you need any help with your things?" Demyx asked, rising from his seat slowly as Zexion began collecting his things.

"That would be most appreciated, thank you Demyx,"

"Axel, are you coming?" the blond asked as he pulled his sitar case onto his back, then lifted one of Zexion's bags. Sometimes, Axel rode the bus home with him, even though Axel could drive. Axel's mother currently held his license hostage, so he was using the bus more frequently.

Shaking his head and smiling, his gaze pulled away from Sora to focus on Demyx, it was clear that Axel wasn't going to be taking the same bus home. "No, I'll stay here a little while longer, see if they need my help or something"

"Well, I'll call you later," Demyx chirped before bouncing off after Zexion who had merely said a calm goodbye and made to leave. "Hey, if you're taking the bus, why didn't you just get on when you got off the National Express bus?" he asked once he'd caught up with Zexion, walking at his side as they headed for the terminal.

"I wanted to stretch my legs," he admitted, omitting the fact that he had actually followed Demyx without realising it. "I'd been stuck on a cramped bus for hours, I needed to move"

"Oh," Was all he got in reply since Demyx didn't really know what to say. He didn't know what to say while they waited for the bus, and he was clueless on conversation while the rode the bus. It was a silence, but a comfortable silence between them, and Demyx liked it. Usually when there was a silence, he felt the need to rush in a fill the void, but sitting there with Zexion, there was no need for words. It was a silence that was just right.

When they got off, Demyx wished Zexion farewell and began walking off towards his own home, leaving Zexion alone with that comfortable silence still lingering over him like a happy little rain cloud. Turning to the quaint little house before him, a song somehow found it's way into his head, and Zexion was humming it to himself as he walked along the front garden path.

"_I'm only a little black rain cloud,_

_Pay no attention to little me_."

- - - - -

**Ending Notes:** I don't really know where this is going, the idea for the whole 'lasagne, side salad and whatnot thing' popped into my head at work when this guy couldn't make up his mind whether to get garlic bread or side salad with his lasagne. I kept telling him he should have the side salad, that it was a good side salad and various other things that probably sounded very creepy to him.

So yes, Radiant Garden is based loosely off where I work. I work in a Wine Bar, which is a place that serves both alcohol and food. It's like a restaurant-bar-club type thing. As for legal drinking age of 18, again, certain times I base things off what I know and the legal age for alcohol consumption is eighteen. As for Sora being seventeen and working in a bar – well thats based off the fact that we used to employ people aged 16-17 to work on the floor (table service, glass collecting, etc). That's recently been changed, but I kept it so Sora could work at Radiant Garden.

No, this will not be AxelxSora. Axel's just a pervert. His attentions will be focused on Roxas soon though (:

As for the whole Sora and wanting a girlfriend...You'll have to wait and see.

All the lyrics featured in this chapter belong to their original creators and not to me. I'd like to thank Roxy for telling me about 'Rain' by Anthony Callea. Don't ask me how Pooh's Little Black Rain Cloud got in there...I wrote the 'happy little rain cloud' bit then my brain just screamed at me, telling me to make Zexion sing/hum the song.

Review please, I'd like that very much.


	2. Breakfast

**Author's Note:** I have nothing new to say. I'm boring. I apologise for my lack of updates. Ummm...Yeah...

**Disclaimer:** I am in the process of kidnapping Xemnas, so then I will have the entire Organization XIII to do my bidding, but unfortunately that is not going to plan, because the yummy Saïx keep thwarting my plans. I can't do anything against him and his greatness (and his voice), which means I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or anything related to it.

**Story Notes:** Somewhere between coming up with this and writing it, it turned into a Zemyx story. Currently, there's flames in the kitchen, Demyx discovers something about Xemnas and a street party is planned!

Let the chaos begin!

**Still Quite The Same**

Breakfast:

It all started with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Students are not known for their culinary skills. Infact, getting them to cook anything without the aid of a supervising adult, microwave or advise from the man at the meat counter is a feat in itself. They are almost culinary incapacitated, lacking any semblance of cooking ability from the moment they become a student, right up until they cease being known as a student. Unless of course; they were cookery students.

But that was not the case, and the simple feat of creating a grilled cheese sandwich was not going so well.

"Luxord's cooker!" gasped a blond as he made a dive across the kitchen to turn the gas off and cease the causing of flames erupting from the grill. "Oh no, oh no, oh, no, ooohhhh nuuuuuu!" he chanted, hopping from one foot to the other, hands batting at the smoke that rose in a feeble attempt at dispersing it before it had chance to reach the smoke detector and announce to the entire household that there was a fire in progress. But, with its amazing smoke detecting skills, the smoke alarm decided to begin beeping hysterically in that annoyingly loud way that could wake a heard of sleeping elephants.

Luxord was no heard of elephants, but it woke him all the same.

The blond male came bundling down the stairs in one long cursing stream, finishing with "Fuckingassholeshitheadsaregonnapay."

Demyx was waving a kitchen towel at the burnt cooker, looking like he was about to wet himself. Standing three feet to his side was a raven haired male with silver streaks in his hair and an eye patch. There was a smug expression on his face as he stood watching chaos ensue with his arms folded casually across his chest.

Spinning around, eyes like a deer caught in a set of headlights, Demyx let out a strangled whimpering cry and tugged the towel over his head. "Xigbar did it!"

"Sure, leave me to take the blame," the male replied from his spot, shooting a grin back at Luxord's 'eat shit and die' glare. "Look, Luxord, sorry about the little accident."

"Little accident?" Luxord replied through gritted teeth. "You destroy my cooker and call it a little accident?"

"Well, it can be fixed..."

Demyx had practically retreated under the kitchen table, still using the towel as a make shift helmet.

Luxord twitched his neck to the side. "You better know a good repair man."

"I was only making breakfast. I thought you might appreciate something after the night you had," Xigbar explained, trying to offer a voice of reason to the murderous Luxord. They had both been partying the previous night (regardless of the fact it was a Thursday night) and Xigbar crashed on the couch when Luxord retreated to bed once they came home. It was a usual event for them both; going out partying, Xigbar spending the night (or what was left of the morning) on Luxord's couch. Demyx usually cooked something for him in the morning, or Luxord would show off his culinary skills if he wasn't sleeping in. Today however, Xigbar had wanted to try his own hand at cooking.

It failed miserably, resulting in Luxord's rude awakening by the fire detector, and Demyx praying for his life under the kitchen table. How Luxord's death glares managed to unaffect Xigbar was impossible to fathom by the normal mind.

"If you wanted breakfast, why didn't you ask Demyx instead of ruining my cooker?"

"Because he was eating cereal," replied the other male simply.

Demyx banged his head on the table, causing the milk in his bowl of cheerios to spill over the side. Wincing in pain, hands covered his head while he cowered and whimpered.

Luxord sighed heavily, running a hand over his short cut blond hair. "Well, you better start cleaning this mess up." Something about the way Xigbar spoke to him had calmed that murderous rage, and now he was just tired, hungover and hungry. He moved to the table, sitting down and kicking Demyx lightly, urging him to get out from his hiding spot.

Standing up straight, Demyx looked like a kicked puppy that had been left out in the rain – only more comical and with a towel on his head. "I...Err...Uhm...I'm..." Luxord just stared at him. "I'm going out."

And without another word, Demyx sped out of the house on onto the front lawn, quickly closing the door behind him.

It was early summer, where the sun was warm on the body, but not harsh that it caused one to melt into a puddle of extreme sweat. The summer flowers were springing to life in people's gardens (Luxord's gardening skills were highly lacking, but they had a friend who kindly came and gardened for free food) and the bird's were singing from their perches on the telephone cables. It was a lovely Friday, just before noon, with the sun high in the sky so that it made the shadows seem shorter.

Demyx preferred it when his shadow stretched out for miles behind him, and he could chase it in an attempt to stand on his own head. But currently he was not interested in his own shadow. He was more focused on what to do now.

He had escaped with his life, but leaving his wallet and sitar inside meant that there was little he could do now that he was out in the open. He could always walk into the main center of town and bother Axel at work, but he wasn't in the mood for any more fire related events – and when Axel was around things enjoyed spontaneously combusting.

Flopping down onto the pavement at the end of the garden path, Demyx reached up and pulled the red and white chequered towel from his head. For a few seconds he debated going back into the house under the pretences of returning the towel, but thought better of it. By now Luxord would have Xigbar cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and then handing the cash over for Luxord to get his cooker fixed.

Eyes scanned the houses along the opposite length of the cul-de-sac. Hmmm...Maybe Xemnas was awake?

Jumping to his feet, Demyx quickly trotted over and gave a merry knock to number I. It was quiet enough so that if Xemnas was asleep it wouldn't wake him, but loud enough to let the man know he had a visitor if he was indeed awake.

Xemnas was only a few years older – twenty two or something – and Demyx had known him since he started school. Xemnas always acted like a leader, and Demyx looked up to him, following him around everywhere like a lost little lamb. The young Xemnas didn't seem to mind, because he had someone to order around, and Demyx was always willing to do his 'Superior's' bidding. As they grew up, they grew more apart, Demyx finding his own feet, but he still went to Xemnas now and again for that friendship he had found in his first days of school.

There were sounds of shuffling feet the other side, and the door slowly opened to reveal a softly tanned, silver haired male. "Demyx...?" One silver brow sloped upwards as bright amber eyes regarded the male on the other side of his door curiously. "Is everything alright?"

Demyx nodded furiously, nervously twisting the towel in his hands. He hoped he hadn't woken the other up, but judging from the elaborately designed white and black bath robe that appeared to have been hastily pulled on, he had done just that. "I didn't wake you did I?" he squeaked.

"Not exactly" Xemnas replied, pulling open the door fully and moving to the side to allow Demyx to enter. "Can I help you with anything?" he asked as he closed the door, pulling the gown up over a bare shoulder.

Nibbling on his lower lip, Demyx turned around to face the older male, hands still fidgeting with the cloth. "Xigbar tried cooking"

"Ah, so thats why I heard an alarm from your home," Xemnas mused as he walked Demyx into his kitchen, putting the kettle on to boil. "Tea? Coffee?" He glanced over his shoulder at the teen now sitting at his kitchen table. "Hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate?" Demyx repeated. Xemnas never seemed the type to curl up with a mug of hot chocolate.

"Saïx suggested it," he replied, pulling out the plastic tub from one of his cupboards. "He says that it helps to calm him, so I thought I'd buy some" Registering the name, Demyx watched Xemnas prepare a mug of hot chocolate for him, then set it down infront of him. "I'm out of whipped cream, sorry. It usually tastes better with some on top," he explained as he sat down opposite, reaching out and taking the kitchen cloth from the young blond.

"Ummm...Xemnas...Is it true about Saïx?" Demyx asked as his hands curled around the warm ceramic mug with a silver heart symbol printed on a white background.

"Is what true?"

"That he eats people?"

At this Xemnas burst out laughing, using a hand to flick some of his grey-silver hair over his shoulder. "Don't be silly, Demyx. Where one Earth did you get the idea that Saïx ate people?"

Fingers tapped uneasily on the mug, eyes cast down at the chocolate drink. "I just heard rumours, that Lexaeus kills people and keeps them in his freezer for Saïx to eat. I asked Zexion about it yesterday but-" Xemnas raised a hand and cut him off mid-sentence.

"Zexion? You asked Zexion?"

Demyx nodded, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "I was playing outside Radiant Garden – where Axel works – and he just comes up and starts talking to me. Offers to buy me a drink and we talk for ages, then Axel came up and I told him about how Zexion said he was going to stay with The Lexaeus"

Xemnas chuckled lightly, shaking his head. The youth were so impressionable these days. It was nice to hear Zexion was back in town though. They were mutual friends, knowing one another's name and face, but were nothing of close friends. "I don't know where you got the ridiculous ideas about Lexaeus and Saïx, but neither of them have any intention of hurting others. Saïx has his moments, but he's just a puppy with a tormented past once you get to know him"

"Zexion suggested I get to know people before I make judgements, but they're really scary sometimes!" he blurted out. Xemnas had rumours that he too was a scary person, but Demyx didn't believe a word of them. He was always there to defend his friend, especially when the anagram of 'Xemnas' leaked out when they were in school.

"If he doesn't shut up, I _will_ eat him," came a voice from the far door of Xemnas' kitchen.

Demyx's head spun around to face the source of the voice, spotting a familiar blue haired male wearing a par of loose fitting blue jeans that hung low on his hips. Oh, and nothing else.

"Eep."

Xemnas chuckled again, glancing over at the newest arrival to his kitchen. "I'm sorry, Saïx. He just turned up without warning. I did not think I'd be gone this long" he explained, motioning a hand at Demyx. "Would you like a drink?"

Saïx shook his head, leaning against the door frame. "I'd rather you just come back to bed"

Xemnas smiled, and Demyx's head switched from one to the other for several moments before his jaw fell open. "You! You're!! What!?"

Xemnas ignored Demyx's little outburst, and continued to look over at Saïx with a soft, calm smile. "Does it matter if we are?" he asked simply.

Taking a few moments to let everything sink in; all the new information about his friend, and then compare it to what he knew about Xemnas in the past, Demyx soon decided that no, it didn't. Xemnas would always be the man with a natural leader quality and despite being involved with a member of the same sex, he would still look up to him. At least it wasn't as bad as when Axel announced he liked guys. "Since when?"

"I was visiting Lexaeus infact, a few months ago, and Saïx was there. It just seemed to happen," Xemnas explained, looking back at the blond opposite him once more. "They however appeared to have neglected to tell me of Zexion's return"

"I didn't know Zexion was returning to Twilight Town," Saïx stated, moving from his perch at the door and entering the kitchen fully. Despite being in another's home, he was seemed completely at ease, drifting around the kitchen to make himself something to drink as if he lived with Xemnas. "So when is he back?"

Demyx gulped down his hot chocolate while Xemnas answered for him. "Now, apparently."

"Where is he staying?"

"With Lexaeus,"

"I'll have to visit, since you're currently too preoccupied with Demyx," Saïx replied, turning to lean against the kitchen counter and look directly at the blond.

Demyx felt an icy shiver race down his spine. Well, Xemnas hadn't been sleeping, but he'd obviously been _in_ bed. "Er...It's okay. I just needed someone to talk to, you know, so that I'm not blamed with Xigbar's murder if he can't get Luxord's cooker fixed" He quickly finished the now lukewarm chocolate and placed the mug down, moving to stand up. "I'll be going, I'm sorry about bothering you both"

"Demyx, are you not forgetting something?" Xemnas called after him as the younger male made a move to leave his home. Lifting the kitchen towel with a smirk, he waved it in the air for the other, who rushed back to reclaim it with a rosy blush tinting his cheeks. "And don't feel bad about visiting, Demyx."

"Just call in advance" Saïx added with a chuckle, moving behind Xemnas, hand sliding down past the fabric of the bathrobe, while teeth dragged over an earlobe.

Without giving himself chance to watch any further activities in Xemnas' kitchen, Demyx quickly left, shouting goodbye to both males, then closing the door behind himself.

And he was back out in the street once more.

"Now what?" he asked the cloth.

Glancing up the street to number X, Demyx sighed softly, shaking his head at the thoughts of returning to his own home, dislodging them before they had chance to spur on any sneaking activities that enabled him to return home without getting cornered by his relative.

By now most people were awake, signified by the lack of cars in driveways, or the sounds of those still home mowing their lawn or doing daily tasks. The couple that lived next door to Xemnas were just leaving their home when the husband spotted Demyx standing on Xemnas' garden path holding a kitchen towel. It didn't seem strange to him though; this was Demyx, he could be caught doing the strangest of things.

"Good afternoon, Demyx!" the man called over while his wife climbed into the fancy car; albeit with some difficulty; pregnant women and plush sports cars do not go well together.

"Hello Mister Loire!" the blond called over, waving at the brunet male. "Hello Misses Loire! Are you going to the hospital?"

The man nodded. "Demyx, how many times do we have to tell you, you can call us Laguna and Raine," he explained with a bright smile. "You visiting Xemnas?"

Demyx nodded, stopped nodding when he realised that he had already visited Xemnas, then started nodding again anyway. "I've just been. He's doing well"

"Was that your fire alarm going off?" Raine asked from the car while she searched for something to use that would bring Laguna's attention from the boy who lived in their neighbourhood to the fact that they'll be later for her appointment if he didn't get his backside in gear.

Again, the blond was nodding almost to the point where his head would fall off. "Everything is alright though."

"Hiding from Luxord?" Laguna asked with a chuckle. "I would too if I were you."

"Laguna! Car!"

"Oh, sorry Raine." He looked at the woman that had thrown his car radio at him. "Well, we'll see you soon Demyx. Have fun and don't get into trouble,"

Demyx smiled at them. "I won't Mister Loire" and he waved as the man got into his car, sorted out the radio, then pulled out of the drive, beeping his horn as they drove away.

Demyx liked where he lived; it was a quaint little neighbourhood, everyone knew everyone else. Luxord had lived in the same house for years, keeping it when his father went to live with Demyx's mother. Demyx had barely visited his uncle, but now that he had spent time living here, he was finally getting to know everyone. Plus, his old school friend lived in the same street. It was a closed off street, far from any main roads. A nice place to raise a family – probably why the Loires had chosen it to start theirs. Plus, the homes were cheap – students often shared a home, especially since it was close to the college campus. It was called a cul-de-sac, and when Demyx had asked what it meant, Luxord told him it was French for 'keep off the grass'.

All in all, it was a lovely little place to live, but right now nothing was going on. That was the problem with quaint neighbourhoods; nothing really ever happened.

Unsure of what to do once more, Demyx sat himself down on the edge of the pavement, elbows resting on his knees, towel hanging between his bent legs. He was bored. Sighing heavily, he looked around to see if there was anything new he could go and inspect.

Something new...

"Zexion!"

Lexaeus was the man that lived at number V. Most of the young, impressionable minds that lived nearby often made rumours about the well built male, because they all believed him to be some kind of mass murderer. How Saïx wound up included with it all was hard to guess at, but it had happened. Many were insistent that neither male would go around killing people, yet the brief meeting with the blue haired male still left Demyx feeling a little unsure. Xemnas was strong though – he wouldn't let Saïx eat him.

Just at that moment, the sound of something large and heavy falling over came from the house behind the blond, and with a yelp he quickly stood up and rushed to number V before Saïx had chance to break down the front door and eat him where he sat. Leaping over the gate, he raced up the dirt path and quickly rapped on the door, occasionally shooting glances to Xemnas' door incase it burst open, or smashed into a thousand pieces as a body was thrown through it.

Now Demyx was no frightened kitten. He would often describe himself as a strong and reliant figure, with a courage that went unmatched. His legs however, thought differently and worked on getting him clear out of any harms way, even if his mind was made up to stand and face the danger grinning. Stare down the barrel the gun, pee down the wind, that sort of mentality, but his legs were always set on autopilot that if faced with the barrel of a gun, he'd be peeing every which way possible.

Thus, when the door opened to reveal a muscular male with light brown hair looking down at him with a stone set expression of (to Demyx's imagination) annoyance, it was like fleeing from the frying pan to go and play with the fire.

Or the giant, scary looking man.

Wielding the frying pan.

"Can I help you?"

Thank heavens he'd kept hold of that towel. Lifting it up with both hands, Demyx whimpered from behind it, calling out "I come in peace" and "Please don't hurt me" in the loudest of all pathetic whimpers known to man.

Lexaeus continued to stare at the strange little man that had knocked on his door, unsure of what to make of it all. Luxord had introduced him to Demyx, and often mentioned him in passing conversation, but he had yet to meet him personally to make any judgement about what Demyx was truly like. Hiding behind a piece of cloth was not how he expected to meet the young man that was often seen playing beautiful music outside of Radiant Garden for more than the simple fact of sharing something he enjoyed doing with others. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked as he watched the figure, noticing how he was slowly starting to shake on the spot. "Would you like a glass of water?"

The towel lowered and a strange pair of blue-green eyes peered up at him unblinking. "Don't poison me!" he simpered.

The rumours he was a serial murderer had reached Lexaeus, and he always did his best to prove that he was a kind and caring man. He kept a well stoked bird feeder in the branches of the tree in his front garden, a bird bath in his back garden, and even went to the point where he'd feed the pigeons in the park with the little old ladies. He took care of injured animals, and helped the elderly cross the street – but somehow people still passed around the rumours he killed people for his friend to eat. Obviously Demyx seemed to believe them. "I won't poison it," he said softly, offering a caring smile as he stepped aside, lifting the hand holding the frying pan to motion that Demyx could enter his home. "You can even clean the glass and pour your own water if you're still unsure"

Clutching the kitchen towel to his chest, and walking slightly haunched over, Demyx entered the house, eyes focused on Lexaeus as he walked past him. When the idea had sprung to visit Zexion, his brain had left out the important factor that the slate haired man lived with the local giant who could probably decapitate him with that large frying pan.

The houses in the street had almost an identical layout, and Demyx easily found his way into the kitchen. His eyes scanned the room, and the slender figure at the counter near the cooker, casually whisking what looked to be eggs in a glass bowl. Upon spotting his arrival, the man smiled warmly and set the bowl down.

"I wasn't expecting you to visit so soon, Demyx," Zexion stated, trying to hide his delight at seeing the younger male. He barely knew the young man, and was already captivated by him. "How are you? You look troubled"

Lexaeus was close behind. "He thinks I'm going to poison him," the man explained, passing Zexion the frying pan. "But I cannot fathom why he knocked upon my door if he believes in those rumours"

"Saïx was gonna eat me," Demyx squeaked, standing in the middle of the kitchen, eyes frantically switching between Zexion (comfort zone) and Lexaeus (man killing giant).

Zexion chuckled, setting the frying pan on the stove and moving to help Demyx into a chair. "Saïx doesn't live anywhere near here. He lives on the other side of town," he explained, his voice soft and soothing.

Demyx quickly shook his head. "He's over at...Eep...I shouldn't say...I don't know if they want others to know..."

Lexaeus let out a hearty chuckle while he poured Zexion and himself a cup of coffee and placed a glass on breakfast bar infront of Demyx. "Saïx has been with Xemnas for a while now. I apologise for not telling you, Zexion. I've become so accustomed to it that it seemed to have slipped my mind"

"I had no idea that Saïx was into men," Zexion admitted, returning to his cooking. "I do not know Xemnas well enough to form a true personal opinion of him. You two became friends when I moved away. Would you like some breakfast Demyx?"

Demyx nodded, not moving from his spot, except to flinch and lean to the side when Lexaeus sat down beside him. The brunet chuckled at the sight of the teen cowering and took a sip of his coffee. "I think Demyx is afraid of me"

Zexion nodded. "I met him yesterday, and he mentioned that you were The Lexaeus, and that you keep people in your freezer," he explained. "You have a bag of frozen peas that are two years out of date, but no people." He motioned to Demyx's glass. "Would you like something in that? There's some fruit juice, or water if you think anything may be poisoned"

"Uhm...Fruit juice?"

Offering a sweet smile, Zexion moved to the fridge and removed a carton of juice, pouring the brightly coloured liquid into Demyx's glass, then set it to the side incase he desire more, then returned to his cooking, adding a few things to the frying egg mix. "Do not be so afraid of Lex, he's more like a gentle giant than one that will grind your bones to make his bread. Speaking of bread, would you like some toast with your breakfast?"

Demyx let out what seemed like his hundredth 'eep' of the day, staring with terrified eyes at Zexion, who merely chuckled lightly. "Don't scare me like that" he whimpered.

Zexion was no culinary student – he didn't have books and books on food, cooking techniques, ways of preparing food and whatnot like Luxord did. He didn't seem the type to blow a fuse if the cooker was ruined by an avid chef like Xigbar – who failed at most mundane things in life – but even so, his food was delicious. Omelette, with red and green peppers, slices of sausage and various herbs sprinkled over it made it a breakfast to challenge Luxord's culinary skills. Demyx had gone through two bowls of cereal back at home, but he cleared his plate, letting out a loud burp once he was done. Which lead to a furious red tinge flushing his cheeks.

Beside him, came an even louder one that Demyx was sure would rattle the windows. Wide eyed, he stared up at Lexaeus who grinned down at him.

Opposite him, Zexion chuckled, brushing fingers through his hair to keep it away from the side of his face that didn't have the slate-blue locks covering. "Not quite Lexaeus' standards there, Demyx, but you'd do well with some practice" he mentioned before lifting his mug to his lips.

Lexaeus grinned smugly, reaching over and ruffling the blond's hair. "I taught Zexion how to belch the alphabet" he announced proudly. "But no one can beat me"

"No, you can belch the alphabet forwards, and then backwards again," Zexion replied with a soft chuckle. "Who was it you said that had passed out when they attempted to take on your challenge?"

"Marluxia."

Demyx's jaw dropped. Marluxia didn't seem anything close to the type that would take up a belching competition. But he was learning many new things today.

"He couldn't believe how vulgar Xaldin was belching and passed out just before he did" He added with a bright grin. "He did the very epitome of an overly feminine man, the hand on his head and the 'aaahhh' before he went down" To further prove his point, Lexaeus acted out what Marluxia had apparently done, placing his hand on his forehead and rolling his eyes, letting out a pathetic attempt at an effeminate moan before leaning backwards briefly. Big men like him didn't go falling off chairs, so he quickly righted himself with a big grin on his lips.

There was a soft chuckle from Zexion. He didn't outwardly appear to be a man that laughed very often, and even at Lexaeus' acting, he didn't burst into a heap of guffaws and chortles, but Demyx seemed to sense that Zexion was a man that didn't get to outwardly show his amusement – or that he didn't like to do so. But watching him laugh; his eyes (eye, since the other was hidden behind a curtain of hair) glittered, his lips were made for smiling and his face brightened significantly. Demyx had never thought about men as being beautiful – but watching Zexion just made his mind scream out "That man is beautiful!" and he couldn't deny it.

And then there was Lexaeus. No way this man could be a murderer. He didn't have a calculating gaze that made one feel like he was choosing the right way to kill a person or where to bury their remains. How he acted with his friend, there was a bond of friendship that had been built over time. For a few brief moments, Demyx felt like he was intruding.

"I...Err..Should...Uhm..."

Zexion sensed that uneasy feeling that was welling up inside the blond and gave a sunny smile. "How about you show me around town? I'd like to see if anything had changed, and you appear to have the quality of the type of tour guide that I like"

"Mmm...Wallet...Luxord...Home..." Demyx murmured, his conversational skills wavering under Zexion's compliment and his own flailing insecurity.

"I'll deal with any expenses, Demyx," Zexion's voice was soft, soothing, while Lexaeus was washing the dishes behind him. "I would really appreciate it if you would"

The look that the slate haired man shot him made Demyx's toes curl in his shoes. It was pleading, sultry and oh gosh it was so darn sexy! Demyx was a firm believer in the fact that he did not – under any circumstances – like men. But no matter which way he thought about it, he liked that look. Swallowing at a lump in his throat, he nodded quickly, unable to say no. "We can go to the park. It's...Err..A really nice day"

"Wherever you wish, my tour guide," Zexion said softly, rising from his seat and smoothing the creases from his snug fitting, soft fabric black pants. They were nothing specular; no rips or fancy zippers. They were nothing compared to the ripped, ragged and worn old jeans that looked loved albeit old that Demyx wore. But they felt comfortable and that was all Zexion had desired of them; even if they did cling a little in ways that made him admiring his body over his shoulder in a bedroom mirror.

"Can I leave the towel here?" Demyx asked, placing the cloth on the counter top.

"I'll take it to Luxord later," Lexaeus offer with a soft nod.

Grinning, Demyx hopped through the home, waiting for Zexion, then held the door open for his new friend. "I was thinking maybe we could walk for a while; I'll be a good tour guide"

"I'm sure you will be," Zexion assured, leaving the home after pulling a light jacket over his shoulders.

They walked side by side, Demyx chattering happily, filling Zexion on information that seemed like the type of things a tour guide would say, and included several of his own thoughts and feelings. He included idle gossip, pointing to the homes of the people he knew. The sun was warm on his back, and his mind fell into a light haze as he lead Zexion along, fogging over happily. He wore a goofy grin, walking a few steps ahead of the older male – and walking backwards.

The morning may have began problematic, but now Demyx was all cheerful and happy. He happily hummed a tune to himself, spinning around to walk forwards, eyes lighting up when he saw something that caught his attention.

"Lets go this way!" And he tugged lightly on Zexion's arm, encouraging him to follow his lead.

- - - - -

**Author's Notes:** For those of you that know who Rain and Laguna are – yes he's going to be a widdle baby! For those of you who don't know who the Loires are, ummm...sorry to be you?

Not much going on, but this is kinda just PWP that will revolve around me typing junk and seeing what I can get going xP


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